Washington Mutual, the largest US savings and loan bank, said today it received a $7 billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG and other investors.
It also said today that it expects to report a first-quarter loss of $1.1 billion, or $1.40 per share. It expects to set aside $3.5 billion in the quarter for loan losses, nearly twice as much as it previously projected, and said net charge-offs will total $1.4 billion.
Separately, the Seattle-based group set plans to reduce its mortgage operations by closing all its freestanding home loan offices, and to stop offering home loans through brokers.
WaMu also said it will reduce its quarterly dividend per share to one cent from 15 cents, saving $490m a year. The cut is the second in four months.
WaMu joined more than a dozen commercial and investment banks to seek cash from outside investors in the last year, following more than $200 billion of write-downs and credit losses tied to the nation's housing and credit crisis.
